The field of the invention is compact disk or DVD holders and the invention relates more particularly to CD holders used to store compact disks in a manner so that they may readily be used by pulling them from a shelf or a stack. While the term xe2x80x9ccompact diskxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cCDxe2x80x9d is used herein, it is, of course, intended to include other styles of disks, such as DVDs.
The standard jewel case style of compact disk holder has a clear polystyrene box with a hinged cover. A tray is held inside the box and is very commonly fabricated from a black or dark grey polymer having a recessed circular disk holding area with a center hub. The center hub has a friction-inducing central portion which presses against the hole in the center of the compact disk to hold it on the hub. Below the central portion of the hub is some sort of disk resting surface so that the compact disk is held below the bottom floor of the tray. It is highly beneficial that the information-containing area on the bottom of the compact disk be kept clean so that dust or dirt does not scratch the information-containing area and compromise the information thereon. This is accomplished by the classic jewel case by the combination of the disk being supported above the bottom of the tray and the closed cover which prevents dust and dirt from entering inside the tray area.
The conventional xe2x80x9cjewel casexe2x80x9d disk holder of the present invention is about 1 cm. in thickness. Although this is not particularly thick, people often collect hundreds of compact disks and, thus, a substantial amount of shelf space is used in storing them.
One way of storing compact disks in a very small width is by storing them in an envelope. The problem with storage in an envelope is that the compact disk is slid in and out of the envelope, and if dust, dirt or sand gets on the inner surface of the envelope, the sliding in and out can very readily cause scratching of the information-containing portion of the disk. Furthermore, the conventional envelope provides no protection against bending.
Another approach to a thin compact disk holder is shown in U.S. Design Pat. Nos. D438,418 and D439,786. These ornamental designs show a compact disk holder with a cover which protects the disk from dust by means of a cover.
Once one wishes to take advantage of a thin compact disk holder to store more compact disks on a shelf, a second problem arises, and that is the problem of identifying a particular compact disk once it is on the shelf. The 1 cm provided by the commonly used conventional jewel case provides sufficient space for an album or game name, but a thinner holder such as that referred to in the above-referenced design patents has insufficient space for such labeling indicia.
Most compact disk holders rely on friction to hold the disk in the holder. It is not uncommon for this friction to be insufficient to withstand shipping or transit and the compact disk can become loose from the center hub. If this happens, scratching of the disk is more likely.
There is, thus, a need for a thin compact disk holder which permits more compact disks to be stored on a shelf than does the conventional jewel case style of compact disk holder. There is also the need for a compact disk holder which prevents dust from reaching the information-containing area of the lower side of the compact disk and which also adds structural support to the disk. There is further a need for a thin compact disk holder which has a spine area sufficiently large to permit indicia to be read when such holder is on a shelf.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a thin compact disk holder which securely retains a compact disk in a manner that dust cannot reach the information-containing area of the compact disk and that also has a spine with sufficient room to enable a user to read a label.
The present invention is for a compact disk holder holding a compact disk. The holder has a bottom tray with a disk resting area impervious to dust and a center hub centrally located in the disk resting area. The center hub has a plurality of disk-securing arms, which provide a biasing force, pulling said retained compact disk in the direction of the disk resting area and which hold the disk in place until it is released and wherein the holder does not have any cover. Preferably, the disk-securing arms are locking arms which prevent the disk from being removed until a release mechanism is moved from a locked position to an unlocked position. Preferably, the disk-retaining arms are biased so that they pull the disk in the direction of the disk resting area and preferably, the disk resting area has an outer circular ridge which contacts an information free outer ring on the bottom of the compact disk. Furthermore, it is preferable that the disk resting area be configured so that it contacts a protruding circular ridge on the bottom of essentially all compact disks so that no dust can enter between the ridge on the compact disk and the outer circular ridge on the disk resting area.
The preferred locking arms include a plurality of hook supporting links which are held to an opening in the center of the tray on an outer edge and to an activation button on the inner edge. A pair of over-center hinges cause the disk-locking arms to move from a lower open stable position. Then when the activation button is moved upwardly, the over-center arms snap to an upper stable area where the hooks push down on that portion of the compact disk around its central opening.
A preferable spine area has an angled label face which increases the label area as compared to an area visible when viewed from a label fixing side directly. Preferably, this label face is curved to further increase the label area.